Luke Montz held court in the Nats

' clubhouse this afternoon, looking bleary-eyed but ecstatic to be in a big-league clubhouse for the first time after a whirlwind 24 hours. "I'm the happiest guy on the planet right now, I can tell you that much," the 25-year-old catcher said.

Here's how Montz wound up in D.C. ...

After playing the season finale at Columbus on Monday, Montz and his father got in their car and drove 17 hours straight to their hometown of Lafayette, La. Along the way, they ran into Hurricane Gustav, which tore through Louisana and caused power outages and other damage throughout the state.

Montz figured his season was over and he wouldn't set foot on another baseball field until February. But upon arriving home, he got word that the Nats wanted to send him to instructional league in Viera, Fla., for a week to keep himself in shape, just in case. Then, 30 minutes later, the call came. Bobby Williams, the organization's farm director, was on the other end and said he had Jim Bowden with him. Jesus Flores had just injured his ankle and Montz was going to be called up to the Nationals.

"I just couldn't believe it," he said. "I really was shocked."

So Montz got a few hours of sleep, hopped a 6 a.m. flight out of Lafayette (the first available one after the airport re-opened following the hurricane) and found himself a few hours later in Washington, D.C. for the first time.

He's not in the lineup tonight, but Manny Acta said he will start tomorrow in Atlanta.

"It's a dream come true," Montz said. "I dedicated a lot of hard work myself. Offseason is big for me. I put in a lot of work. Since a kid, I was just never going to give up. I've always wanted to do this. I want to help the team. I want to win. It's just great to be here. This is the best feeling in the world."

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